Semiconductor device and method including first and second carriers

ABSTRACT

A semiconductor device and method. One embodiment provides an integral array of first carriers and an integral array of second carries connected to the integral array of first carriers. First semiconductor chips are arranged on the integral array of first carriers. The integral array of second carriers is arranged over the first semiconductor chips.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Utility Patent Application is a divisional application of U.S.application Ser. No. 12/102,175, filed Jan. 14, 2008, which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

This invention relates to an electronic device and a method offabricating thereof.

Power semiconductor chips may, for example, be integrated intoelectronic devices. Power semiconductor chips are suitable, inparticular, for the switching or control of currents and/or voltages.Power semiconductor chips may, for example, be implemented as powerMOSFETs, IGBTs, JFETs, power bipolar transistors or power diodes.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of embodiments and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments andtogether with the description serve to explain principles ofembodiments. Other embodiments and many of the intended advantages ofembodiments will be readily appreciated as they become better understoodby reference to the following detailed description. The elements of thedrawings are not necessarily to scale relative to each other. Likereference numerals designate corresponding similar parts.

FIGS. 1A to 1C schematically illustrate one embodiment of a method tofabricate a device 100.

FIGS. 2A to 2E schematically illustrate one embodiment of a method tofabricate a device 200.

FIGS. 3A to 3D schematically illustrate variations of the methodillustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2E.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a device 400 as a further embodiment.

FIGS. 5A to 5G schematically illustrate one embodiment of a method tofabricate a device 500.

FIG. 6 illustrates a basic circuit of a half-bridge 600.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following Detailed Description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shownby way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention maybe practiced. In this regard, directional terminology, such as “top,”“bottom,” “front,” “back,” “leading,” “trailing,” etc., is used withreference to the orientation of the Figure(s) being described. Becausecomponents of embodiments can be positioned in a number of differentorientations, the directional terminology is used for purposes ofillustration and is in no way limiting. It is to be understood thatother embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes maybe made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Thefollowing detailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in alimiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined by theappended claims.

It is to be understood that the features of the various exemplaryembodiments described herein may be combined with each other, unlessspecifically noted otherwise.

Devices with semiconductor chips are described below. The semiconductorchips may be of extremely different types and may include for exampleintegrated electrical or electro-optical circuits. The semiconductorchips may, for example, be configured as power semiconductor chips, suchas power MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors),IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors), JFETs (Junction Gate FieldEffect Transistors), power bipolar transistors or power diodes.Furthermore, the semiconductor chips may include control circuits,microprocessors or microelectromechanical components. In one embodiment,semiconductor chips having a vertical structure may be involved, that isto say that the semiconductor chips may be fabricated in such a way thatelectric currents can flow in a direction perpendicular to the mainsurfaces of the semiconductor chips. A semiconductor chip having avertical structure may have contact elements in one embodiment on itstwo main surfaces, that is to say on its top side and bottom side. Inone embodiment, power semiconductor chips may have a vertical structure.By way of example, the source electrode and gate electrode of a powerMOSFET may be situated on one main surface, while the drain electrode ofthe power MOSFET is arranged on the other main surface. Furthermore, thedevices described below may include integrated circuits to control theintegrated circuits of other semiconductor chips, for example theintegrated circuits of power semiconductor chips. The semiconductorchips need not be manufactured from specific semiconductor material, forexample Si, SiC, SiGe, GaAs, and, furthermore, may contain inorganicand/or organic materials that are not semiconductors, such as forexample insulators, plastics or metals. Moreover, the semiconductorchips may be packaged or unpackaged.

The semiconductor chips have electrodes (or contact pads) which allowelectrical contact to be made with the integrated circuits included inthe semiconductor chips. One or more metal layers may be applied to theelectrodes of the semiconductor chips. The metal layers may bemanufactured with any desired geometric shape and any desired materialcomposition. The metal layers may, for example, be in the form of alayer covering an area. Any desired metal or metal alloy, for examplealuminum, titanium, gold, silver, copper, palladium, platinum, nickel,chromium or nickel vanadium, may be used as the material. The metallayers need not be homogenous or manufactured from just one material,that is to say various compositions and concentrations of the materialscontained in the metal layers are possible.

The semiconductor chips may be placed on carriers or plates.Furthermore, carriers or plates may be placed on the semiconductorchips. The carriers and plates may be of any shape, size or material.During the fabrication of the devices the carriers and plates may beconnected to each other. The carriers and plates may also be made fromone piece. The carriers and plates may be connected among each other byconnection means with the purpose of separating some of the carriers andplates in the course of the fabrication. Separation of the carriers andplates may be carried out by mechanical sawing, a laser beam, cutting,stamping, milling, etching or any other appropriate method. The carriersand plates may be electrically conductive. They may be fabricated frommetals or metal alloys, in one embodiment copper, copper alloys, ironnickel, aluminum, aluminum alloys, or other appropriate materials. Thecarriers and plates may be, for example, a leadframe or a part of aleadframe. Furthermore, the carriers and plates may be plated with anelectrically conductive material, for example copper, silver, ironnickel or nickel phosphorus.

The devices described below include external contact elements orexternal contact pads, which may be of any shape and size. The externalcontact elements may be accessible from outside the device and may thusallow electrical contact to be made with the semiconductor chips fromoutside the device. Furthermore, the external contact elements may bethermally conductive and may serve as heat sinks for dissipating theheat generated by the semiconductor chips. The external contact elementsmay be composed of any desired electrically conductive material, forexample of a metal, such as copper, aluminum or gold, a metal alloy oran electrically conductive organic material. The external contactelements may be leads of a leadframe.

Surfaces of the devices, for example, surfaces which are used asexternal contact pads, may form an assembly plane. The assembly planemay serve to mount the device onto another component, such as a circuitboard for example.

The devices may include a mold material covering at least parts of thecomponents of the devices. The mold material may be any appropriatethermoplastic or thermosetting material. Various techniques may beemployed to cover the components with the mold material, for examplecompression molding, injection molding, powder molding or liquidmolding.

FIGS. 1A to 1C schematically illustrate a method for production of adevice 100, which is illustrated in FIG. 1C. Each of the FIGS. 1A to 1Cillustrates the components of device 100 in top view and in crosssection along the line A-A′ depicted in the top view perspective.

Firstly, an integral array of first carriers 11 and 12 as well as anintegral array of second carriers 21 and 22 is provided (see FIG. 1A).Furthermore, the first carriers 11, 12 are connected to the secondcarriers 21, 22. The first carriers 11, 12 and/or the second carriers21, 22 may be made in one piece. At least one connection element 50 maybe provided connecting the integral array of first carriers 11, 12 tothe integral array of second carriers 21, 22. First semiconductor chips31 and 32 are arranged on the first carriers 11, 12 (see FIG. 1B). Theintegral array of second carriers 21, 22 is arranged over the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 (see FIG. 1C).

The device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1C includes a first carrier 11, afirst semiconductor chip 31 arranged on the first carrier 11 and asecond carrier 21 arranged over the first semiconductor chip 31. Thefirst carrier 11 and the second carrier 21 are formed integrally.

FIGS. 2A to 2E schematically illustrate a method for production of adevice 200, which is illustrated in FIG. 2E. Each of the FIGS. 2A to 2Eillustrates the components of device 200 in top view and in crosssection along the line A-A′ depicted in the top view perspective. Themethod illustrated in FIGS. 2A to 2E is an implementation of the methodillustrated in FIGS. 1A to 1C. The features of the method described inthe following can therefore be likewise applied to the method of FIGS.1A to 1C. Moreover the features of the device 200 can be likewiseapplied to the device 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 2A, an integral array of first carriers 11, 12and an integral array of second carriers 21, 22 is provided. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 2A, only two first carriers 11, 12 andtwo second carriers 21, 22 are illustrated. It may, however, be providedthat each of the integral arrays of first and second carriers includesmore than two carriers. The first carriers 11, 12 may be connected tothe second carriers 21, 22 by the connection element 50. The firstcarriers 11, 12 as well as the second carriers 21, 22 may be connectedto each other by dams (tie bars) 51. The integral array of firstcarriers 11, 12, the connection element 50 and the integral array ofsecond carriers 21, 22 may be made in one piece. They may beelectrically conductive and may, for example, be made from a metal, suchas copper, or a metal alloy, such as iron nickel.

The first carriers 11, 12 and/or the second carriers 21, 22 may have athickness in the range between 50 μm and 2 mm. If the carriers 11 to 22are fabricated from a metal or a metal alloy, they may have been platedwith a layer of a Ni—NiP alloy, a Ni—NiP—Au alloy, a NiPd alloy, Au, Ag,Sn or any other appropriate material. This layer may be depositedgalvanically on the carriers 11 to 22 and may have a thickness of up to100 μm. Furthermore, the aforementioned materials may be selectivelydeposited on different areas of the carriers 11 to 22. The layer platedonto the carriers 11 to 22 may serve as solder connection later on andmay prevent corrosion of the carriers 11 to 22.

In order to form the outer shape of the integral arrays of first andsecond carriers 11 to 22 as for example illustrated in FIG. 2A, a plate10 may be stamped, pressed, punched, cut, etched or treated by any otherappropriate method, thereby producing cut-outs (or through-holes) 52 asillustrated in FIG. 2A. The plate 10 may be a leadframe or part of aleadframe, for example made of copper or an iron-nickel alloy. The firstcarriers 11, 12 may form a first section of the plate 10, and the secondcarriers 21, 22 may form a second section of the plate 10.

The connection element 50 connecting the integral array of firstcarriers 11, 12 to the integral array of second carriers 21, 22 may haveone or two or more depressions 53 as illustrated in the cross section ofthe leadframe 10. In the top view perspective the depressions 53 areindicated by dashed lines. The depressions 53 may be arranged on a firstsurface 54 of the leadframe 10. The depressions 53 may be fabricated bystamping, embossing, punching, pressing, cutting, milling, etching,laser ablating or any other appropriate method. The depressions 53 maybe arranged in lines as illustrated in FIG. 2A. In other embodiments,they may have any other geometry.

The widths of the depressions 53 may be in the range between 10 and 1000μm, in one embodiment in the range between 100 and 200 μm. Specialembodiments of the depressions 53 will be discussed below. The depths ofthe depressions 53 may be in the range between 10% and 90% of thethickness of the leadframe 10.

The first surface 54 of the leadframe 10 and a second surface 55 of theleadframe 10 opposite to the first surface 54 may be substantiallyplanar. The leadframe 10 may include elements 56 protruding from thesecond surface 55 of the leadframe 10.

As illustrated in FIG. 2B, the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 areplaced over the first carriers 11, 12, respectively. Furthersemiconductor chips may be placed over further first carriers (notillustrated in FIG. 2B). The first semiconductor chips 31, 32 as well asall other semiconductor chips described herein may have been fabricatedon a wafer made of semiconductor material. After dicing the wafer andthereby separating the individual first semiconductor chips 31, 32, thefirst semiconductor chips 31, 32 are relocated on the first carriers 11,12 in larger spacings as they have been in the wafer bond. The firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 may have been manufactured on the same wafer,but may in one embodiment, have been manufactured on different wafers.Furthermore, the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 may be physicallyidentical, but may also contain different integrated circuits.

Each of the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 may have a first electrode57 on a first main surface 58 and a second electrode 59 on a second mainsurface 60 that is opposite to the first main surface 58. The firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 may, for example, be vertical power diodes orvertical power transistors, for example IGBTs, JFETs, power bipolartransistors or power MOSFETs. In the latter case, which is exemplarilyillustrated in FIG. 2B, the first and second electrodes 57 and 59 may bedrain and source electrodes, respectively. Furthermore, each of thefirst semiconductor chips 31, 32 may have a third electrode 61 on thesecond main surface 60 functioning as a gate electrode in the case thefirst semiconductor chips 31, 32 being power MOSFETs. During operationof the device 200, voltages up to 1000 V may be applied between thedrain electrode 57 and the source electrode 59. The switching frequencyapplied to the gate electrode 61 may be in the range from 100 kHz to 1MHz, but may also be outside this range.

The first semiconductor chips 31, 32 are mounted onto the first carriers11, 12 with their first main surfaces 58 facing the first carriers 11,12, respectively.

The electrical connections between the drain electrodes 57 of the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 and the first carriers 11, 12 may, forexample, be produced by diffusion soldering. For that, a solder materialmay be deposited on the first carriers 11, 12 or the drain electrodes 57(not illustrated), for example by sputtering or other appropriatephysical or chemical deposition methods. The solder material may have athickness in the range from 100 nm to 10 μm, in one embodiment in therange from 1 to 3 μm. During the soldering operation, the soldermaterial diffuses into the adjacent materials which leads to anintermetallic phase at the interface between the first semiconductorchips 31, 32 and the first carriers 11, 12. The solder material may, forexample, consist of AuSn, AgSn, CuSn, Sn, AuIn, AgIn, AuSi or CuIn.

For producing the soldered joint, the first carriers 11, 12 may beheated by a hot plate to a temperature above the melting point of thesolder material, for example in the range from 200 to 400° C., in oneembodiment in the range from 330 to 350° C. In one embodiment, both thefirst carriers 11, 12 and the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 may beplaced in an oven and heated to an appropriate temperature. Apick-and-place tool may be used capable of picking the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 and placing them on the heated first carriers11, 12. During the soldering process the first semiconductor chips 31,32 may be pressed onto the first carriers 11, 12 for an appropriate timein the range from 10 to 200 ms, in one embodiment around 50 ms.

Instead of a diffusion soldering process, other connection techniquesmay be used to attach the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 to the firstcarriers 11, 12, for example soft soldering or adhesive bonding using anelectrically conductive adhesive. When using a soft soldering process tojoin the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 and the first carriers 11, 12to each other, solder material remains at the interfaces between thefirst semiconductor chips 31, 32 and the first carriers 11, 12 after thesoldering process has been finished. In case of adhesive bonding, anelectrically conductive adhesive may be used, which may be based onfilled or unfilled polyimides, epoxy resins, acrylate resins, siliconeresins or mixtures thereof and may be enriched with gold, silver, nickelor copper in order to produce electrical conductivity.

As illustrated in FIG. 2C, the leadframe 10 may be bent along thedepressions 53 such that the second carriers 21, 22 are rotated andplaced over the second surfaces 60 of the first semiconductor chips 31,32. The depressions 53 may function as film hinge joints allowing thefolding of the leadframe 10. Moreover, after the folding of theleadframe 10, the first surfaces 54 of the first carriers 11, 12 and thefirst surfaces 54 of the second carriers 21, 22 may be arrangedsubstantially plane-parallel. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2C,the second carriers 21, 22 have been rotated about 180°, and the middlepart of the connection element 50 has been rotated about 90°. Thedepressions 53 in the leadframe 10 facilitate this bending by increasingthe mechanical flexibility of the leadframe 10 in these areas.

The source electrodes 59 and the gate electrodes 61 of the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 may be electrically connected to the secondcarriers 21, 22, respectively. These electrical connections may beproduced by diffusion soldering, soft soldering, adhesive bonding usingan electrically conductive adhesive or any other appropriate connectiontechnique as described above in connection with FIG. 2B. If soldering oradhesive bonding is performed, the solder material or the adhesive maybe deposited either on the second main surfaces 60 of the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 or on the second surfaces 55 of the secondcarriers 21, 22.

As can be seen from FIG. 2C, the gate electrodes 61 are coupled to bars62 of the leadframe 10. The bars 62 contain the protruding elements 56.The protruding elements 56 are connected to the gate electrodes 61. Theprotruding elements 56 allow the bars 62 to overlap parts of the sourceelectrodes 59 without short-circuiting the source electrodes 59 and thegate electrodes 61.

A mold material 63 may be used to cover at least parts of the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32 and parts of other components of the devices200 as illustrated in FIG. 2D. The first surfaces 54 of the firstcarriers 11, 12 and the second carriers 21, 22 may be left partly orcompletely uncovered by the mold material 63. Furthermore, the firstsurface 54 of the connection element 50 may be exposed from the moldmaterial 63 so that the first surface 54 of the connection element 50forms a side surface of the device 200 as illustrated in FIG. 2D. Themold material 63 may be applied such that the first surfaces 54 of thefirst carriers 11, 12 as well the first surfaces 54 of the secondcarriers 21, 22 form common planes with the mold material 63 asillustrated in FIG. 2D. Moreover, the first surface 54 of the connectionelement 50 and the mold material 63 may also form a common plane.

The first surfaces 54 or portions of them may be used as externalcontact elements to electrically couple the first semiconductor chips31, 32 to external components. Furthermore, either the first surfaces 54or portions of them may be used as an assembly plane to mount the device200 to other components, such as circuit boards. Further components,such as heat sinks or cooling elements for example, may also be attachedto one of the first surfaces 54.

The even and plane-parallel first surfaces 54 of the first carriers 11,12 and the second carriers 21, 22 are helpful when the leadframe 10 isclamped into a mold cavity. Firstly, protrusions from the first surfaces54 may damage the first semiconductor chips 31, 32 when clamped into themold cavity. Secondly, deviations from plane-parallelism of the firstsurfaces 54 may cause the mold material 63 to unintentionally coat partsof the first surfaces 54.

The mold material 63 may be composed of any appropriate thermoplastic orthermosetting material, in one embodiment, it may be composed ofmaterial commonly used in contemporary semiconductor packagingtechnology. Various techniques may be employed to cover the componentsof the devices 200 with the mold material 63, for example compressionmolding, injection molding, powder molding or liquid molding.

The mold material 63 may contain a filling material consisting of smallparticles of glass (SiO₂), or other electrically insulating mineralfiller materials like Al₂O₃, or organic filler materials. The moldmaterial 63 may be injected through the cut-outs 52 of the leadframe 10.The grain size of the filler material may be in the range between 5 and200 μm and in one embodiment in the range between 40 and 80 μm.

As illustrated in FIG. 2E the integral arrays of first carriers 11, 12and second carriers 21, 22 as well as the mold material 63 may beseparated, for example by employing mechanical sawing, a laser beam,etching, cutting, stamping or milling, in order to obtain the devices200. In one embodiment, separation of the integral arrays of firstcarriers 11, 12 and second carriers 21, 22 may be carried out before themold material 63 is applied to the devices 200.

The exposed first surfaces 54 of the second carriers 21, 22 may be usedas external contact pads 64, 65 and 66 to electrically couple the device200 to other components. The shapes and sizes of the external contactpads 64 to 66 may differ from the shapes and sizes illustrated in FIG.2E. In the present embodiment, the external contact pads 64, 65 and 66are electrically coupled to the drain electrode 57, the gate electrode61 and the source electrode 59 of the first semiconductor chips 31, 32,respectively.

It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that the devices 100 and200 are only intended to be exemplary embodiments, and many variationsare possible. For example, it may be provided that the devices 100and/or 200 include more than the first semiconductor chips 31, 32. Asecond semiconductor chip may be included in each of the devices 100and/or 200 and may, for example, be stacked on the first semiconductorchip 31, 32 or may be arranged next to the first semiconductor chip 31,32. In the latter case, the first carrier 11, 12 and/or the secondcarrier 21, 22 may be structured such that the desired electricalconnection between the first and second semiconductor chips isestablished. Furthermore, a third semiconductor chip may be mounted overthe second carrier 21, 22 after folding the leadframe 10. The secondand/or third semiconductor chips may, for example, be further powersemiconductor chips or may include control circuits to control the firstsemiconductor chips 31, 32.

Variations of the depressions 53 in the leadframe 10 and the foldingmechanism are also possible. Some of theses variations are illustratedin FIGS. 3A to 3D. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3A thedepressions 53 are formed in the second surface 55 of the leadframe 54.In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3B the depressions 53 are formedin the first and second surfaces 54 and 55 of the leadframe 10. In theembodiment illustrated in FIG. 3C only one depression 53 is formed inthe first surface 54 of the leadframe 10, however this depression 53 hasa larger width than the depressions 53 illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B.Of course, the depression 53 of FIG. 3C may in one embodiment, be formedin the second surface 55 of the leadframe 10.

Instead of forming depressions 53 in the leadframe 10, the mechanicalflexibility of the material of the connection element 50 may beincreased by other methods, for example by a heat treatment, in order tofacilitate the folding of the leadframe 10 in the area of the connectionelement 50. Exemplarily, a laser beam 67 is used in FIG. 3D to heat theleadframe 10 in the area of the connection element 50. As illustrated inthe lower drawing of FIG. 3D, the leadframe 10 may be bent around a rod68. Afterwards the rod 68 may be removed. As a further alternative, itmay be provided that the leadframe 10 is bent around the edges of thefirst semiconductor chips 31, 32.

The external contact pads 64, 65 and 66 of the device 200 may be used toelectrically couple the device 200 to other components. This isexemplarily illustrated in FIG. 4. There, an excerpt of a device 400 isschematically illustrated which includes the device 200 that is mountedonto a circuit board 69, for example a PCB (Printed Circuit Board), withthe external contact pads 64 to 66 facing the circuit board 69. Solderdeposits 70 may have been used to solder the external contact pads 64 to66 to contact areas 71 of the circuit board 69.

On top of the device 200, a heat sink or cooling element 72 may beattached. Between the heat sink 72 and the device 200 an electricallyinsulating layer 73 may be arranged in order to electrically decouplethe device 200 from the heat sink 72. During operation of the device200, the heat sink 72 dissipates the heat generated by the firstsemiconductor chip 31.

In FIGS. 5A to 5G the fabrication of a device 500, which is illustratedin FIG. 5G, is schematically illustrated as a further exemplaryembodiment in a three-dimensional representation. The device 500 and thefabrication method thereof illustrate some similarities to the device200 and the fabrication method thereof. Therefore similar or identicalcomponents used in both methods are denoted by the same referencenumerals. Furthermore, in the following it is sometimes referred to themethod of FIGS. 2A to 2E if the same method steps can be carried out asdescribed above.

In FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C a leadframe 10 is illustrated in a top view, athree-dimensional perspective and cross section, respectively. Theleadframe 10 is made in one piece from a metal or a metal alloy andincludes first carriers 11 to 18, second carriers 21 to 28 andconnection elements 50. First semiconductor chips 31 to 38 are mountedon the first carriers 11 to 18. Second semiconductor chips 41 to 48 aremounted on the first semiconductor chips 31 to 38. Both the firstsemiconductor chips 31 to 38 and the second semiconductor chips 41 to 48may be power semiconductor chips, for example power MOSFETs. In thelatter case, the drain electrodes of the first semiconductor chips 31 to38 may be electrically connected to the respective upper surfaces of thefirst carriers 11 to 18, and the drain electrodes of the secondsemiconductor chips 41 to 48 may be electrically connected to therespective source electrodes of the first semiconductor chips 31 to 38.These electrical connections may, for example, be established bysoldering or adhesive bonding using an electrically conductive adhesiveas described above in connection with FIG. 2B.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the leadframe 10 may not becompletely plane when provided. The first carriers 11 to 18 and therespective second carriers 21 to 28 may form an angle in the rangebetween 60° and 150°. The connection elements 50 arranged between thefirst and second carriers 11 to 28 may be implemented as film hingejoints as described above in connection with FIGS. 2A and 3A to 3D.

Each of the second carriers 21 may include two bars 62, and each of thebars 62 may include an elements 56 which protrudes from the respectivebar 62. The elements 56 may be used later on to contact the gateelectrodes of the first and second semiconductor chips 31 to 48. Sincethe first semiconductor chips 31 to 38 are arranged below the secondsemiconductor chips 41 to 48, the elements 56 provided for theelectrical connection of the first semiconductor chip 31 to 38 arelarger than the elements 56 used for the electrical connection of thesecond semiconductor chips 41 to 48.

FIGS. 5D and 5E illustrate the folded leadframe 10 in athree-dimensional perspective. After the leadframe 10 has been bentalong the film hinge joints 53 and the second carriers 21 to 28 havebeen rotated, the second carriers 21 to 28 are arranged over therespective second semiconductor chips 41 to 48. Parts of the secondcarriers 21 to 28 may be electrically connected to the gate electrode ofthe respective first semiconductor chip and the gate and sourceelectrodes of the respective second semiconductor chips. Theseelectrically connections may again be established by soldering oradhesive bonding using an electrically conductive adhesive as describedabove in connection with FIG. 2B.

As illustrated in FIG. 5F, a mold material 63 may be used to cover thefirst and second semiconductor chips 31 to 48 and parts of othercomponents of the devices 500 as described in connection with FIG. 2D.The outer surfaces of the first carriers 11 to 18, the second carriers21 to 28 and the connection elements 50 may be left uncovered. Duringoperation of the devices 500, heat generated by the semiconductor chipsincluded in the devices 500 may be dissipated by the exposed surfaces.

Finally, the leadframe 10 may be separated, for example by employingmechanical sawing, a laser beam, etching, cutting, stamping or milling,in order to obtain the devices 500. Each of the devices 500 may includea first and a second semiconductor chip. As illustrated in FIG. 5E, eachof the devices 500 may have external contact pads 74 to 77. The externalcontact pads 74 and 75 may be electrically coupled to the drainelectrode and the gate electrode of the first semiconductor chip,respectively. The external contact pads 76 and 77 may be electricallycoupled to the gate electrode and the source electrode of the secondsemiconductor chip, respectively.

In the device 500 illustrated in FIG. 5G the source electrode of thefirst semiconductor chip is electrically connected to the drainelectrode of the second semiconductor chip. Due to this connection, thedevice 500 can be used as a half-bridge. A basic circuit of ahalf-bridge 600 arranged between two knots N1 and N2 is illustrated inFIG. 6. The half-bridge 600 consists of two switches S1 and S2 connectedin series. The first and second semiconductor chips of the device 500may be implemented as the two switches S1 and S2, respectively. Whencompared to the device 500 illustrated in FIG. 5G, the node N1 is thedrain electrode of the first semiconductor chip, the node N3 arrangedbetween the two switches S1 and S2 is the drain electrode of the secondsemiconductor chip, and the node N2 is the source electrode of thesecond semiconductor chip.

The half-bridge 600 may, for example, be implemented in electroniccircuits for converting DC voltages, DC-DC converters. DC-DC convertersmay be used to convert a DC input voltage provided by a battery or arechargeable battery into a DC output voltage matched to the demand ofelectronic circuits connected downstream. DC-DC converters may beembodied as step-down converters, in which the output voltage is lessthan the input voltage, or as step-up converters, in which the outputvoltage is greater than the input voltage. Frequencies of several MHz orhigher may be applied to DC-DC converters. Furthermore, currents of upto 50 A or even higher may flow through the DC-DC converters.

In addition, while a particular feature or aspect of an embodiment ofthe invention may have been disclosed with respect to only one ofseveral implementations, such feature or aspect may be combined with oneor more other features or aspects of the other implementations as may bedesired and advantageous for any given or particular application.Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “include”, “have”, “with”, orother variants thereof are used in either the detailed description orthe claims, such terms are intended to be inclusive in a manner similarto the term “comprise”. The terms “coupled” and “connected”, along withderivatives may have been used. It should be understood that these termsmay have been used to indicate that two elements co-operate or interactwith each other regardless whether they are in direct physical orelectrical contact, or they are not in direct contact with each other.Furthermore, it should be understood that embodiments of the inventionmay be implemented in discrete circuits, partially integrated circuitsor fully integrated circuits or programming means. Also, the term“exemplary” is merely meant as an example, rather than the best oroptimal. It is also to be appreciated that features and/or elementsdepicted herein are illustrated with particular dimensions relative toone another for purposes of simplicity and ease of understanding, andthat actual dimensions may differ substantially from that illustratedherein.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the artthat a variety of alternate and/or equivalent implementations may besubstituted for the specific embodiments shown and described withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. This application isintended to cover any adaptations or variations of the specificembodiments discussed herein. Therefore, it is intended that thisinvention be limited only by the claims and the equivalents thereof.

1. A device, comprising: a first carrier; a first semiconductor chiparranged on the first carrier; and a second carrier arranged over thefirst semiconductor chip, wherein the first carrier and the secondcarrier are formed integrally.
 2. The device of claim 1, comprisingwherein the first semiconductor chip is covered with a mold material,and at least one surface of the first carrier and at least one surfaceof the second carrier are uncovered by the mold material.
 3. The deviceof claim 2, comprising wherein a connection element connects the firstcarrier to the second carrier, and at least one surface of theconnection element is uncovered by the mold material.
 4. The device ofclaim 1, comprising wherein the first carrier and the second carrier areelectrically conductive.
 5. The device of claim 1, comprising whereinthe first semiconductor chip has a first electrode on a first mainsurface and a second electrode on a second main surface.
 6. The deviceof claim 5, comprising wherein the second carrier comprises a firstexternal contact pad electrically coupled to the first electrode of thefirst semiconductor chip and a second external contact pad electricallycoupled to the second electrode of the first semiconductor chip.
 7. Thedevice of claim 1, comprising wherein the first semiconductor chip is apower semiconductor chip.
 8. The device of claim 1, comprising wherein asecond semiconductor chip is arranged between the first semiconductorchip and the second carrier.
 9. The device of claim 8, comprisingwherein the second semiconductor chip has a first electrode on a firstmain surface and a second electrode on a second main surface.
 10. Thedevice of claim 9, comprising wherein the second electrode of the firstsemiconductor chip is electrically coupled to the first electrode of thesecond semiconductor chip.
 11. The device of claim 8, comprising whereinthe second semiconductor chip is a power semiconductor chip.
 12. Thedevice of claim 8, comprising wherein the second semiconductor chipcontrols the first semiconductor chip.
 13. The device of claim 8,comprising wherein the first semiconductor chip and the secondsemiconductor chip form a half-bridge circuit.
 14. The device of claim1, comprising wherein a first element protrudes from the second carrierelectrically contacting the first semiconductor chip.
 15. The device ofclaim 14, comprising wherein a second element protrudes from the secondcarrier electrically contacting the second semiconductor chip.
 16. Thedevice of claim 1, comprising wherein the first carrier has a firstsurface facing away from the first semiconductor chip and the secondcarrier has a second surface facing away from the first semiconductorchip, wherein the first surface and the second surface are alignedplane-parallel to each other.
 17. The device of claim 16, comprisingwherein the first surface of the first carrier and/or the second surfaceof the second carrier are uncovered by the mold material.
 18. The deviceof claim 1, comprising wherein a third semiconductor chip is arrangedover the second carrier.
 19. The device of claim 18, comprising whereinthe third semiconductor chip controls the first semiconductor chip. 20.The device of claim 1, comprising wherein the first carrier and thesecond carrier are parts of a leadframe.
 21. A device, comprising: afirst carrier; a first semiconductor chip arranged on the first carrier,wherein the first semiconductor chip has a first electrode on a firstmain surface and a second electrode on a second main surface; and asecond carrier arranged over the first semiconductor chip, wherein thefirst carrier and the second carrier are formed integrally and are partsof a leadframe.
 22. A device, comprising: a first carrier; a firstsemiconductor chip arranged on the first carrier; and a second carrierarranged over the first semiconductor chip, wherein the first carrierand the second carrier are formed integrally, wherein the firstsemiconductor chip is covered with a mold material, and at least onesurface of the first carrier and at least one surface of the secondcarrier are uncovered by the mold material, and wherein a connectionelement connects the first carrier to the second carrier, and at leastone surface of the connection element is uncovered by the mold material.23. A device, comprising: means for providing a first carrier; a firstsemiconductor chip arranged on the first carrier; and means forproviding a second carrier arranged over the first semiconductor chip,wherein the first carrier means and the second carrier means are formedintegrally.